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Colombia CDM project

4/16/2010

Colombian project demonstrates that climate change mitigation efforts can also provide important services such as freshwater protection, biodiversity conservation and human well-being.

A groundbreaking new forest carbon project supported
by Conservation International-Colombia, which helps demonstrate how efforts to
protect the planet from climatechange can also bring significant
additional benefits to humanity, has today joined the tiny number of forest
projects sanctioned by the UN to sell carbon credits.

The
Procuenca initiative – or “Forestry project for the basin of the Chinchina
river, an environmental and productive alternative for the city and the region”
– is working to reforest up to 15,000 hectares (37,000 Acres) of forest that
will help protect the region’s important biodiversity and restore the
watershedof the Chinchina
river, located in the central Colombian Andes. Currently the project has
reforested more than 3,000 hectares. The forest area supplies the city of
Manizales with water critical for the health and livelihoods of its 600,000
inhabitants.

The project
was today registered under the UNFCCC
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) – an official UN mechanism for trading carbon
credits under the Kyoto Protocol. It is the first CI project and only the
14th forest carbon project in the world to receive CDM accreditation.
This means that when the carbon stored in the planted trees has been officially
audited, the project will be able to sell carbon credits
internationally.

Most of the
money generated from the sale of carbon credits (70 per cent) will go to the
farmers who own the land. Another 20 per cent of the revenue will go into a
biodiversity fund, which will help protect the region’s incredible plant and
animal life – which includes spectacled bears (Tremarctos ornatus)and yellow eared parrots (Ognorhynchus
icterotis). The remaining 10 per cent will support the running
of the project by the city of Manizales.

Fabio
Arjona, Executive Director of CI Colombia said: “This is the first CDM forest
carbon project that has biodiversity protection and monitoring built into its
design. It is a great example of how protecting and restoring forests to tackle
climate change can bring many other benefits. It also helps to protect clean
water supplies for people and protects the soil for agriculture, ensuring that
Manizales benefits economically and socially. This project is like a Swiss army
knife - with a tool for many environmental jobs.”

Francisco
Ocampo Executive Director of Procuenca said: “We know the city of Manizales
depends on the services that the forest provides, but finding a way to fund the
restoration of these forests can be challenging with the competing pressure of
agriculture and other land uses. This project demonstrates that the
international importance of these forests for carbon storage can also bring
local benefits to this area, its people and its unique biodiversity.”